Anne TootillTo Be or Not To Be a Mother - Part two
December 5th 2006 15:28
…wow, I thanked him profusely stunned at the generosity of this small bank that I had applied to on a lark. I’d been bored after Josh was out of the colic phase and I’d seen this job ad for someone with my skills. It was a savings bank that I’d never heard of, when in the past I’d only worked for major commercial banks. But I decided to apply thinking that I wasn’t really interested. Then they’d called me, interviewed me, offered me the job and tailored it to my babysitting needs. My husband told me I was crazy not to at least give it a chance and since I knew the money would come in handy and even though I felt awfully guilty leaving Josh, I took it. And it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. Bigger obviously isn’t better because this small bank may have been a fraction of the size of my other employers but they treated me with ten times more respect and kindness than the others ever did. And though I knew that a company of this size couldn’t possibly match the health and disability benefits of the larger banks, I was deeply touched by their generosity.
And since I’d needed to keep Josh’s babysitter despite my lack of income (someone had to watch Josh while my husband and family members worked and I was too sick to keep my head above the toilet for very long) I knew I’d be happy no matter what tiny financial crumbs they sent my way.
So I called Human Resources to find out about the disability benefits I was eligible for. I was thinking they’d say something along the lines of fifty, maybe a hundred dollars a week and though that would only be a tiny fraction of the babysitter’s salary, every little bit would help. I tried not to think about how we’d be able to afford her if I couldn’t work because I had to be confined to bed for the whole pregnancy like last time.
One hundred percent of my salary (keep in mind that since I was an officer of the bank this was no small potatoes) for a full six months and eighty percent of all my medical bills including my delivery expenses. Those were my benefits, effective immediately! Yup, two and one-half months of employment and they were going to pay me six months salary and medical benefits.
Well I made that wonderful Human Resource lady repeat herself three times before I thanked her from the bottom of my heart, hung up the phone and cried. Happy tears. I may be Jewish but I knew when I’d witnessed a Christmas miracle. Hallelujah and praise the Lord, who, if I was one to believe in signs, had just given me the big thumbs up on this pregnancy. Then again He was probably a man, a man who having never been to Hell had no clue of what it felt like to experience Hyperemesis Gravidum (nonstop morning sickness) not once but twice.
And since I’d needed to keep Josh’s babysitter despite my lack of income (someone had to watch Josh while my husband and family members worked and I was too sick to keep my head above the toilet for very long) I knew I’d be happy no matter what tiny financial crumbs they sent my way.
So I called Human Resources to find out about the disability benefits I was eligible for. I was thinking they’d say something along the lines of fifty, maybe a hundred dollars a week and though that would only be a tiny fraction of the babysitter’s salary, every little bit would help. I tried not to think about how we’d be able to afford her if I couldn’t work because I had to be confined to bed for the whole pregnancy like last time.
One hundred percent of my salary (keep in mind that since I was an officer of the bank this was no small potatoes) for a full six months and eighty percent of all my medical bills including my delivery expenses. Those were my benefits, effective immediately! Yup, two and one-half months of employment and they were going to pay me six months salary and medical benefits.
Well I made that wonderful Human Resource lady repeat herself three times before I thanked her from the bottom of my heart, hung up the phone and cried. Happy tears. I may be Jewish but I knew when I’d witnessed a Christmas miracle. Hallelujah and praise the Lord, who, if I was one to believe in signs, had just given me the big thumbs up on this pregnancy. Then again He was probably a man, a man who having never been to Hell had no clue of what it felt like to experience Hyperemesis Gravidum (nonstop morning sickness) not once but twice.
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